One of the secrets of the 2025 Cubs success was above average production from just about every position on the diamond. That includes catcher, where Carson Kelly, Miguel Amaya and Reese McGuire combined
to put up 4.2 fWAR last season. You can see FanGraphs’ summary of production by player position and role at this link.
After last week’s non-tender deadline, McGuire is no longer part of the Cubs 40-man roster. The Cubs likely plan to roll with Amaya and Kelly at catcher, but as last year demonstrated, the Cubs will still need some depth at the position for the 2026 season. FanGraphs has a handy free agent tracker with crowd-sourced median contract values for the top free agents as well as deals as they are finalized. I’ve pulled that data into a table you can view below:
It’s certainly possible that the Cubs could reunite with McGuire (or one of the other lower value options on this list for a one-year minor league deal similar to the one Tomás Nido inked with the Tigers). That said, McGuire might have played his way into a major league backup role after last season.
While the Cubs will likely be looking for a minor league deal where they can stash someone to backup Kelly and Amaya, they’ll also want that catcher to be as capable of stepping into the role immediately if necessary. With that in mind, I removed the free agents who have already signed deals and added each catcher’s framing data from FanGraphs and pop time data from Statcast for the remaining catchers on the market:
Savvy readers at Bleed Cubbie Blue will notice a bit of a trade-off between framing and pop time. Pop time has become more important with the stolen base rule changes, so while the Cubs are likely to look for catcher options who can frame, they are just as likely to be paying attention to pop time. Controlling the running game is often inversely correlated with stealing balls and strikes. One note on framing, as calculated by FanGraphs, framing is functionally a counting stat. So while J.T. Realmuto stands out with the lowest framing number on the above table, you should also read that through him leading the board in innings with more than 300 extra innings played compared to the rest of the table. That’s merely an example. Barring offseason injury news the Cubs are probably not in the Realmuto market at all.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Cubs depth at catching in their farm system. While catching is the regular position of rookie hitting phenom Moisés Ballesteros, it became apparent last season the Cubs are less interested in seeing him behind the plate than taking swings at the dish. Ballesteros logged just six innings at catcher in his brief 20-game stint in the majors last season. He’s likely to log most of his playing time at DH in 2026, although his experience at catcher could come to play during emergency or blowout situations.
Another prospect, Owen Ayers, opened some eyes at the Arizona Fall League this season. Ayers isn’t currently ranked on most prospect lists. The 24-year old has spent two seasons in single A since being drafted in the 19th round in 2024. Below is Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen on Ayers’ AFL performance with the Mesa Solar Sox:
Ayers has an incredible arm, he has the lightning-fast exchange of an undefeated late-1800s gunslinger, and has routinely popped sub-1.9 for me this Fall with throws right on the bag. The other aspects of his catching defense are not great, but Ayers is a recent small-school draftee ($50k out of Marshall in 2024) and deserves time to develop back there. Can he hit? He performed as an old-for-the-level hitter at Low-A in 2025 (Ayers is 24) and has looked good against mostly bad pitching in Arizona, with roughly average raw power but vulnerability to elevated velocity. He’s definitely on the prospect radar now, but his role and projection are still pretty fuzzy and dependent on him improving as a receiver.
Ayers’ development in the AFL is a welcome development, but he likely still needs a decent amount of seasoning in the minors before he’s ready to step into an MLB role.
While the Cubs have depth at catcher, 2026 will likely see them add one of the free agents above via a minor league deal for depth. Here’s hoping whoever they sign has a season like McGuire’s in 2025.
